Hiccup Haddock and the Dragon's Blood Stone
by UnderTheWillowTrees
Summary: Hiccup Haddock thinks he's a normal boy - until he is rescued by a very large, blond man with one hand, enrols at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and does battle in a deadly duel. The reason? Hiccup Haddock is a wizard. Rating: K. Pairings: Implied Hiccstrid.
1. The Boy Who Lived

**So, me and a very lovely author (CessieRose25, check our her stories, by the way!) were talking the other day and we managed to get onto the subject of what houses the gang would be in. And then it ended up as a rather long discussion about which characters would be who and that kind of thing.**

**And I couldn't stop thinking about it.**

**And then I wrote this. I don't know if I'm going to post it or not (but, I suppose if you're reading this, I did post it)**

**But yeah, please enjoy whatever this is.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD or Harry Potter :(**

**As usual, sorry for any mistakes!**

* * *

There was no slamming of car doors that night. There was no drunken yelling from nearby streets, nor was there the tell tale rumbling of a bus. There was no howling of dogs or meowing of cats -even though there was definitely at least one cat on the rather boring little street, which was called Privet Drive.

The place was eerily silent. The kind of silence where you could practically hear your own heartbeat in your ears.

A rather ugly cat with yellow fur and sharp grey eyes stalked around the corner of the street and leapt up onto the wall of number four. It sat down and fixed its eyes on the other end of the street as if it were waiting for someone.

The someone took the form of a very old woman with grey -almost white- hair in two, thick braids and watery blue eyes, hidden behind an ancient pair of half-moon spectacles. She was wearing an emerald green, floor length cloak and she had a small green, lizard-like creature with wings and an orange underbelly perched on her thin shoulder. She had appeared rather suddenly, like she had just spung up from the ground.

The old woman smiled fondly when she caught sight of the cat. She shrugged her shoulder gently, making the little dragon jump up and settle itself on her head. Then, the old woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a wooden stick. She waved the stick at the cat, which promptly turned into a large, yellow-haired woman wearing robes of dark red.

"Elder Gothi!" cried the cat -woman- as she stumbled off the wall and almost landed on her face on the stone pavement. "How did you know it was me?"

The old woman -Elder Gothi- smiled warmly and tapped her head.

"Ah, the fur colour is a giveaway," sighed the woman, who was named Phlegma.

Elder Gothi nodded as her dragon jumped down from her head and landed in the crook of her arm. It buried its head in her robes and folded its wings around itself.

"I suppose you know why I'm here?" asked Phlegma, sitting back down on the wall and straightening out her robes.

Elder Gothi nodded, sitting down next to Phlegma and making sure her little dragon -Olaf- was quite comfortable.

"And are the rumours true? About- about Stoick and Valka?" questioned Phlegma, tears building up in her eyes and her voice shaking.

Elder Gothi gently placed her wrinkled hand on Phlegma's shoulder and nodded.

"No," gasped Phlegma. "Stoick and Valka. No."

Elder Gothi nodded once again and stoked Olaf's head, making him pur in an almost cat-like manner.

Phlegma hurriedly wiped her eyes while Gothi was distracted before sitting up straighter.

"And their little boy? Hiccup? He survived the Dragon Lord's attack, did he not?" she asked, sniffling slightly.

Gothi nodded again and shifted Olaf so he was closer to her.

"How in Valhalla did the boy survive?" asked Phlegma, her eyes widening. "How could a baby survive an attack from the Drag-"

Gothi shot her a pointed look.

"Oh, alright! How could a baby survive an attack from- from... _Drago Bludvist_?" said Phlegma.

Gothi shrugged sadly.

"Where is the child now?" asked Phlegma, glancing over at Gothi.

The elderly woman pointed at the night sky, where a silvery light had appeared.

"What do you- AH!" shrieked Phlegma as an enormous motorcycle crashed from the sky and came to an unexpectedly smooth stop in front of the two women.

"Evenin'," said the man astride the bike sadly as he climbed off the bike, clutching a little bundle.

He tucked his rope-like, blonde moustache over his shoulder and walked over to Phlegma and Gothi, handling the little bundle in his arms with great care.

"Is that-?" asked Phlegma, hurrying over to the man and looking at the bundle. "Gobber, is that the boy?"

"Indeed i' is, Phlegma," answered Gobber. "Looks a bi' like Stoick, don' ya think? His eyes are more like Val's, though."

"Are you okay, Gobber?" asked Phlegma in a concerned tone as Gothi took the bundle from Gobber and looked down at the infant inside. "I mean, Stoick was your best friend, wasn't he?"

Gobber nodded and turned away quickly.

Gothi smiled down at the little baby boy in her arms, but frowned when she caught sight of the lightning shaped scar on his forehead, hidden by a tuft of auburn-brown hair.

"Why have you brought him here, of all places?" asked Phlegma, placing her hand on Gobber's arm in a comforting manner.

"Elder Gothi asked me t'," answered Gobber, using his real hand (as opposed to his prosthetic left arm) to wipe his eyes.

"Elder Gothi?" said Phlegma, turning to look at Gothi, who was carrying young Hiccup towards number four's door step. "No! No! With his mother's sister? No, Elder! He can't! It's not-"

"Well, Edda is the only family th' boy has lef'," said Gobber.

"But she- her husband- her son! They're dreadful! I've watched them all day! Hiccup Haddock come and live here? There won't be a child in the magical world who won't know his name! He deserves better!"

Gothi shook her head and placed the sleeping baby on the doorstep. Then, she placed an envelope on the baby's chest and walked over to Phlegma, who was still gaping.

"T' Hiccup Haddock!" cried Gobber, smiling fondly at the baby as his podgy little hand closed around the envelope. "Th' boy who lived!"

"We can't just leave him there!" snapped Phlegma. "It's the first of November! He'll be frozen before morning!"

Gothi waved her wand at the small bundle and the little baby boy smiled contentedly in his sleep and snuggled into his blankets a bit more. Then, she smirked up at Phlegma as Olaf climbed up onto her shoulders and draped himself around her neck like a scaly scarf.

"But- but-" stammered Phlegma.

"Would ya like a lif', Elder Gothi?" asked Gobber as he climbed back onto his motorcycle.

Gothi shook her head before taking Olaf in her arms, spinning around on her heel and vanishing on the spot.


	2. The Vanishing Glass and a Letter

**So this is the first edited chapter, guys! Exciting, right?**

**Anyway, the reason I did this is because I felt bad for the people who were reading it on laptops and stuff and not phones because the chapter's just seemed really short and suckish. So sorry about that!**

**But my goal if for each chapter to be AT LEAST 1,500 words, okay? Any less than that and you can lock me in the grounded dungeon with the feels-destroyers of the Dragons fandom, okay?**

* * *

It had been over ten years since the boy who lived had been placed on the doorstep of the Dalgaards' house (number four, Privet Drive), but you would hardly be able to tell. Everything looked exactly as it had on that night. The same tidy front garden, the same brass knocker on the same shiny, wooden door.

There were, however, two things that had changed quite significantly.

One, was young Rolf Dalgaard. He was no longer a baby, but a rather large ten -eleven today- year old boy.

The other thing that had changed was about to be woken up by his rather stressed out Aunt Edda.

"Up! Get up!"

Hiccup Haddock woke with a start to his aunt's shrieking and pounding on his door. He sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and shoved his hand through his auburn-brown hair to get it out of his face. Then he yawned, stretched out his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having - it had been a very good one and he was fairly sure there had been a flying motorbike in it.

"Are you up yet?!" snapped Aunt Edda.

"Nearly," replied Hiccup as he searched the floor for a pair of socks.

"Well, hurry. I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn!" Aunt Edda snapped. "I want everything perfect on my Rolfie's special day!"

Hiccup groaned - Rolf's birthday. How could he have forgotten?

"What did you say?" demanded Aunt Edda, banging the door with her fist again.

"Nothing, nothing," answered Hiccup as he finally found a clean pair of socks.

He heard his aunt huff and storm off down the hall, her shoes tapping against the tiled kitchen floor.

Hiccup pulled a spider off his socks and placed it on the floor, then, he pulled his socks on. He was used to spiders because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them - and that was where he slept.

The sound of someone running down the stairs came from above him, followed by a very loud thump which shook the dust from the ceiling/bottom of the stairs.

"_WAKE UP, HADDOCK!_" bellowed Rolf as he jumped up and down on the stairs. "_WE'RE GOING TO THE ZOO!_"

Hiccup groaned and stood up, the top of his head a few inches away from the ceiling. He pushed open the door and stepped out into the hallway, only to be shoved back into the cupboard by his cousin, who was laughing very loudly and yelling insults at him.

He scowled and rubbed his head. He walked back out into the hall and shut the door behind him. Then, he walked into the kitchen and over to the oven, where there was a pan of bacon that he was supposed to look after.

"How many are there?!" demanded Rolf, glaring down at the immense pile of birthday presents on the kitchen table.

"Thirty-six!" grinned his father, Kol. "Counted 'em myself!"

"Thirty-six?!" bellowed Rolf, his face turning tomato red and his many chins wobbling. "But last year, last year, I had thirty-seven!"

"Some of them are quite a bit bigger than last-"

"I don't care how big they are!"

"Okay, darling, here's what we're going to do," said Aunt Edda quickly, obviously sensing a Rolf tantrum coming on. "When we go out, we're going to buy you two new presents! Two new presents! How's that, popkin?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes as he tended to the bacon - Rolf was like this every year. Each year he ended up with more and more presents that he wasn't even that interested in. His second bedroom was filled with broken toys, unread books and useless bits and pieces that he had sat or stepped on.

He, Hiccup, had never received a birthday present in his life.

"Right!" cried Uncle Kol cheerfully, clapping his hands together and heaving himself from his seat at the table. "We'd better get going! Boy!" He looked over at Hiccup. "Hurry up and get dressed. You have five minutes or we're leaving without you."

Hiccup nodded and hurried back to his cupboard to change out of his pyjamas (which were basically a pair of Rolf's old jogging bottoms that were too small for his cousin, but far too big for him, and a very old, very grey T-shirt that had once belonged to Rolf as well).

"And I'm warning you!" shouted Uncle Kol from the kitchen. "Any funny business, any at all, and you won't have any meals for a week! Understand?"

"Fully," Hiccup sighed.

He honestly wasn't going to try anything. The problem was that strange things often happened around Hiccup and it was no good telling the Dalgaards that he didn't make them happen.

Once, Aunt Edda, sick to death of Hiccup's messy hair, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short that he was almost bald, apart from his fringe, which she had left to 'hide that horrible scar'. Rolf had laughed so hard that he had almost wet himself when he first saw Hiccup, who had driven himself nearly to the point of insanity worrying about school the next day. The next morning, though, he had woken up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Edda had hacked it off. He had been given a week in his cupboard for that.

Another time, Rolf's gang had been chasing him around the school, threatening to beat him up. Hiccup had leapt behind the big bins behind the school when, quite suddenly, he was sitting on the chimney. That had earned him a week in the cupboard, too, this time, though, there hadn't been any meals.

* * *

Hiccup stood next to Rolf in the dark, cool reptile house at the zoo, leaning against the railing as he watched Rolf press his face up against the glass and stare at the snake behind it.

"Make it move," ordered Rolf, turning to look at his father.

Uncle Kol strolled up to the glass, wrapped on it smartly with his knuckles and called:

"Move!"

"_MOVE_!" bellowed Rolf obnoxiously, banging his fists against the glass.

"He's asleep!" shouted Hiccup, glaring at his stupid cousin.

"He's boring," huffed Rolf, turning on his heel and storming over to a large tank that contained a different, slightly smaller, snake.

"Sorry about him," Hiccup told the snake in a quiet voice. "He doesn't understand what it's like. Laying there, day after day. Watching people press their ugly faces in on you."

The snake raised its head and nodded.

"You- you can hear me?" asked Hiccup, his green eyes widening as the snake nodded again.

"Mummy! Dad! Come quick! You won't believe what this snake is doing!" screamed Rolf, rushing over to Hiccup and shoving him out of the way so he could get a better look at the snake.

Hiccup hit the ground with a thud. He sat up and scowled at his cousin, rubbing his aching back.

The glass of the snake's enclosure disappeared. Rolf let out a yell and tumbled over the railing that separated the snake tank from the rest of the reptile house, landing in a large pool of water.

The snake slithered out of its cage and glanced over at Hiccup, who was staring at it with wide eyes.

"_T__hanksss_," it hissed.

"Anytime," said Hiccup before the snake slid out of the reptile house, causing complete chaos.

* * *

"What happened?!" demanded Uncle Kol as he dragged Hiccup towards his cupboard by his hair.

"I don't know!" yelled Hiccup. "One minute the glass was there, the next it was gone! It was like magic!"

Uncle Kol flung open the cupboard door and threw Hiccup inside before slamming it shut after him.

"There is no such thing as magic!"

* * *

The letterbox clinked the next morning.

"Go and get the post, Rolf," said Uncle Kol, not looking up from his newspaper.

"Make Hiccup get it," smirked Rolf, stuffing bacon into his mouth.

"Get the post, boy."

"Make Rolf get it."

"Hit him, Rolf."

Hiccup nimbly dodged Rolf's chubby fist and jumped out of his seat at the table. He rolled his eyes and set off down the hall, shoving a hand through his hair. Why couldn't Rolf have just gone to get the bloody post? He was hungry!

Hiccup sighed, stooped down and picked up the wad of letters on the doormat. He flicked through them quickly.

"Bill, bill, postcard, bill, letter for me, bill," muttered Hiccup. "Wait, what?" He dropped all of the letters to the floor, but held on to the yellowing envelope."Letter for me?"

No one had ever written to him before. Who would? He didn't have any family other than the Dalgaards, he had no friends and he didn't belong to the library so he never even got any rude notes demanding books back.

But there it was. Addressed so plainly that even Rolf would know who it was for:

_Mr H Haddock_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

The envelope was made of some sort of yellowing parchment and the words on the front were written in ink the same shade of green as Hiccup's eyes. There was no stamp.

Hiccup turned the envelope over in his fingers, his hands trembling and his heart pounding. On the back of the envelope, there was a purple wax seal bearing some kind of coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large 'H'.

"Where's the post, boy?!" Uncle Kol bellowed from the kitchen.

Hiccup picked up the letters he had dropped, slowly walked back towards the kitchen and dumped the bills and postcard on the table in front of his uncle. Then, he broke the seal on his letter.

"Helga's ill," Uncle Kol informed Aunt Edda, glancing down at the postcard. "Ate a bad eel..."

"Dad!" cried Rolf, leaping out of his chair and snatching the letter from Hiccup's hands. "He's got something!"

"Give it!" exclaimed Hiccup, making a mad grab for the letter. "It's mine!"

Uncle Kol quickly yanked the letter out of his son's hand.

"Yours?" he scoffed. "Who'd be writing to you?"

He unfolded the letter, glanced down and read the first line. Suddenly, he made a funny choking noise.

"E-E-Edda!" Uncle Kol gasped, holding the letter out of Rolf's

Edda curiously took the letter and read it. She, too, made a rather odd noise - almost like a goose being strangled. She looked like she was going to faint.

"Oh my gods, Kol!"

"Let me read it!" screamed Rolf.

"_I WANT MY__LETTER_!" bellowed Hiccup, launching himself at his uncle, who simply grabbed him and Rolf by the scruffs of their necks and flung them out of the kitchen.

"Out!"

He slammed the door after them. Hiccup and Rolf promptly got into a furious, if silent, fight over who got to listen at the keyhole. As Hiccup knew he would, Rolf won, so Hiccup was forced to lay flat on his stomach on the floor and listen at the crack beneath the door. Hiccup didn't mind - he could probably hear better there anyway.

"What do we do?!" Aunt Edda hissed. "Should we write back? Tell them we don't-"

"No!" snapped Uncle Kol. "We just won't do anything. If we don't respond, they'll give up!"

"My parents tried to ignore V- uh, my sister's letter, too! They said it was a prank! The letters just kept coming!"

"I don't care, Edda! I am not having one in the house!"

"Well, alright, if you say so..."

"Good."

* * *

It turned out that ignoring the letter did not stop the letter-writer. At least twenty were sent to number four everyday for the next few weeks.

They were shoved through the letterbox and under the door; they were forced through the bathoom window and stuffed into the milk bottles.

Finally, after a rather large avalanche of letters burst through the fireplace, Uncle Kol stood up and bellowed:

"_THAT'S IT! WE'RE GOING AWAY! FAR AWAY_!"

And that was how Hiccup ended up laying on the grimy, disgusting floor of a wooden hut on a rock in the middle of the sea, covered by one, thin, mouldy blanket and drawing a birthday cake with eleven candles in the dirt.

Rolf, who was sleeping on the sagging sofa next to Hiccup,'s digital watch beeped.

_00:00 am_

"Make a wish, Hiccup," sighed Hiccup before taking a deep breath and 'blowing out' the 'candles' on his 'cake'.

_BOOM!_

Hiccup leapt about a mile into the air and scrambled backwards.

"Where's the cannon?" asked Rolf groggily as he snapped awake.

_BOOM!_

Uncle Kol and Aunt Edda came flying down the rickety wooden stairs. Aunt Edda still had rollers in her blond hair and Uncle Kol was clutching the rifle he had brought with him.

_CRASH!_

The door flew off its hinges and hit the floor with a deafening crash. Dust billowed up around it as a large figure walked through the doorframe, silhouetted by the lightning flashing outside.

"Sorry 'bou' tha'," said the figure cheerfully, picking the door up and shoving it back into the doorframe. "Couldn' make us a cuppa, could y'? It's no' been easy gettin' here..."


	3. The Truth and a Dragon

**Editing these chapters again is still fun... but it's getting a little annoying...**

**You guys had better appreciate this (I'm kidding)**

* * *

The figure (which was definitely male) made his way over to the sofa, which Rolf had leapt off when the man had barged through the door. The man sat down and flicked the umbrella (which was in the place of his left hand) at the damp wood in the fireplace, which promptly ignited and cast a warm glow over the dingy hut.

"Alrigh', Hiccup?" asked the man, glancing back at Hiccup, who had pressed his back against the stone wall.

"Uh, yes?" answered Hiccup, though it sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Oh, yeah! Happy birthday!" cried the man, standing up, limping over to Hiccup and handing him a white box. "Baked i' myself, words an' all!"

Hiccup opened up the box to reveal a bright pink cake with green icing that read, '_Hapy Birthdae, Hiccup_!'

He had never received a birthday cake before - heck, he had only ever tried cake once! It was at Rolf's eighth birthday and one of his stupid friends had smashed his slice on Hiccup's face and then demanded another piece.

"Thank you," said Hiccup excitedly, smiling up at the stranger.

"Well, it's no' everyday your young man turns eleven, is i'?" grinned the man as Hiccup set the box down on the windowsill.

"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" shouted Uncle Kol from the stairs, pointing his gun at the man. "You are breaking and entering!"

The man strolled over to Uncle Kol, a highly unimpressed look on his face. Without a second thought, he grabbed the gun, twisted it into a knot and threw it across the room.

"Dry up, Dalgaard, y' grea' prune."

"Um, sorry, but who are you?" asked Hiccup.

"Oh, sorry, lad. I'm Gobber Belch, gamekeeper a' Hogwarts School of Witchcraf' and Wizardry. O' course, you'll know all abou' Hogwarts," answered Gobber, sitting back down on the sofa and smiling at Hiccup.

"Sorry, but no," said Hiccup.

"Bu', didn' y' ever wonder where your mum and dad learned i' all?" asked Gobber.

"Learned what?" questioned Hiccup.

"You're a wizard, Hiccup," said Gobber. "An' a thumpin' good one, I'd say. Once you've been trained up a bi'."

"A... wizard?" asked Hiccup, his eyebrows shooting up into his hair. "No, I mean, you've got the wrong person! I'm not a wizard, I can barely tie my own shoelaces!"

"He's actually really good at shoelaces," said Rolf as he stuffed handfuls of Hiccup's birthday cake into his mouth.

"You are not helping," sighed Hiccup.

"He's not going to this... Pigfarts-"

"Hogwarts."

"He's not going to this Hogwarts thing!" snapped Uncle Kol. "We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to all this nonsense!"

"You knew?!" asked Hiccup. "I've lived with you for ten years and you've never told me that I'm a... wizard?!"

"Of course, we knew!" scowled Aunt Edda, stomping down the steps. "How could you not be? Valka-" She practically spat her sister's name. "-My perfect sister being what she was. My parents were positively thrilled when they found out that it wasn't a joke. 'We have a witch in the family, isn't it wonderful?'. She was nothing but a freak. And then she met that Haddock and then she had you. I knew you'd be just as abnormal. And then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

"Blown up?!" bellowed Hiccup. "You told me my parents died in a car crash!"

"A car crash?" exclaimed Gobber. "A car crash kill Stoick and Valka Haddock?! Wha' rubbish! Now, you listen here! This boy's goin' t' Hogwarts and he'll be under th' finest headmistress tha' the school's ever had: Elder Gothi."

"I will not pay to have some crackpot old fool teach him magic tricks!" shouted Uncle Kol.

Gobber stepped forwards, a scowl on his face.

"Never. Insul'. Elder Gothi. In. Fron'. O'. Me," he spat before flicking his umbrella at Rolf, who was bent over the cake.

A curly pink pig's tail poked through a hole in his pyjama bottoms. Aunt Edda shrieked and stumbled over to her son, who was bellowing at the top of his lungs and clutching his bottom. Uncle Kol was yelling himself hoarse, not that Gobber was paying much attention.

"Did you know my parents?" Hiccup asked Gobber in a small voice.

"Your father was one o' my best friends," smiled Gobber, placing his large hand on Hiccup's scrawny shoulder. "An' your mother was quite possibly th' nices' woman I've ever me'."

An enormous smile broke out on Hiccup's face and he felt a sort of giddiness sweeping over him. He hadn't known anything about his parents until a few seconds ago, just their names.

"And I'm going to get away from... them?" questioned Hiccup, gesturing vaguely at the Dalgaards.

"Thank Odin, eh? Oh, uh, I'd appreciate i' if y' didn' tell anyone a' Hogwarts abou' the tail. I wasn' supposed to use magic on any o' them, but, well, y' know," said Gobber sheepishly.

"Oh, I won't tell anyone," smiled Hiccup. "I'll just laugh about it for a few years."

"Alrigh'," chuckled Gobber. "Well, we'd better ge' going. Unless you'd rather stay, o' course."

Gobber ripped the door off its hinges again and threw it to the ground. Then, he opened up his pink umbrella hand and stepped out into the pouring rain. He glanced back at Hiccup, who was looking at him nervously.

"Y' know, I'm gonna ge' into trouble if y' don' come with me, don' y'?" asked Gobber.

"You're not messing with me, right?" asked Hiccup, his voice sounding more childlike than he had hoped.

"O' course no', Hiccup," grinned Gobber. "Now, come on. We need t' ge' your school stuff."

And with that, he walked right out into the storm, Hiccup hot on his heels. He clambered into a small wooden rowboat and waited for Hiccup to get in before tapping the side of it with his umbrella. The boat shot off.

"We should be in London by morning. I'll le' y' ge' some sleep before we go ou', alrigh'?"

* * *

"Gobber?" said Hiccup, looking down at his Hogwarts letter skeptically as he and Gobber walked through the crowded streets of London. "I don't think we can find half of this stuff in London. 'A pair of dragon hide gloves'-"

"Oh! Tha' reminds me! I have t' ge' y' a birthday presen'!" cried Gobber. "I'll ge' y' a dragon, shall I?"

"A-a dragon?" asked Hiccup, his eyes widening. "But you already gave me a present! The birthday cake, remember? And aren't dragons huge or-?"

"Calm down, lad," chuckled Gobber. "Look, your cousin ate tha' cake! And y' probably haven' had a proper presen' for a while, have y'?"

"I mean, no but-"

"There y' go then," grinned Gobber. "Yeah, I'll ge' y' a dragon. A Monstrous Nightmare, perhaps? Or how abou' a Deadly Nadder?"

"Aren't dragons a bit too big to take to a school?" asked Hiccup.

"O' course no'!" exclaimed Gobber. "They're no' tha' big. A Monstrous Nightmare -which is th' bigges' o' the dragons you're allowed t' take t' Hogwarts- is only abou' th' same length as your arm."

"Honestly, Gobber, you don't have to buy me a present," said Hiccup, biting his lip.

"Don' be silly," laughed Gobber. "I'm gonna take y' t' _Dagny's Dragons_, alrigh'? Ah, here we are!"

The older man stopped in front of a dingy little pub that had a squeaky looking sign that read '_The Leaky Cauldron_'. Its windows were grimy and the door handle was rusty, but what little light that was streaming through the dirty windows looked warm and inviting.

"Ah, Gobber!" cried the man stood behind the bar. "Usual, I presume?"

"No thanks," grinned Gobber. "I'm on official Hogwarts business. Young Hiccup here has to buy his school things."

"Bless my soul," gasped the bartender, his eyes flicking to the lightning scar that was just visible beneath Hiccup's hair. "It's Hiccup Haddock!"

The rumble of talking in the pub ceased immediately. Everyone's eyes locked on Hiccup and after a few moments of complete and utter silence, everyone was on their feet and crowding around Hiccup. Some shook his hand, others just thanked him profusely. One woman even gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Oi!" yelled Gobber. "We need t' ge' going now. Leave th' poor kid alone!"

Everyone grumbled but returned to their seats, still staring at Hiccup. Gobber placed his hand on Hiccup's shoulder and guided him towards the cracked door at the back of the pub. Then, he opened the door and led Hiccup out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a dustbin and a few weeds.

"See, Hiccup?" grinned Gobber as he began to tap the brick wall with his umbrella. "You're famous!"

"Why? Why am I famous?" asked Hiccup.

"I'm no' sure I'm the righ' person t' tell y' tha'," sighed Gobber. "Ah, there we go!"

The last brick he had tapped with his umbrella quivered and a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider until it was big enough for even Gobber. A second later, they were facing an archway that led on to a cobbled street that twisted and turned its way out of sight.

"Welcome," smiled Gobber. "T' Diagon Alley! Righ', come on, dragon."

Gobber walked through the archway, Hiccup, whose mouth and eyes were wide, right behind him.

"There i' is!" said Gobber, pointing at a dark, ominous looking shop that reminded Hiccup of the reptile house from Rolf's birthday. "Go on." He pressed a few golden coins into Hiccup's hand and pushed him through the door.

Hiccup stared all around the shop, his heart pounding in his chest. There were dragons all around him; it was extremely surreal. He had only ever seen dragons in Rolf's story books. There were small ones, about the size of his head, that looked like boulders, there were different coloured, two-headed ones, there were beautiful ones that looked a bit like birds and there were long, snake-like ones with large horns on their heads.

"Wow," he gasped.

"Alright, love?" asked the woman behind the counter.

"Yes, thank you," smiled Hiccup. "I've been sent in here to pick a dragon."

"Fantastic!" cried the woman. "I'm Dagny. So, what kind of dragon would you like?"

"Uh- I don't, I don't really know-"

"Toothless!" shrieked the woman, half-laughing as a jet black dragon landed on her head. "You alright, darlin'? Oh, this is Toothless. He's a Night Fury. We found him in the woods. Poor little lamb was starving and his tail was all broken - see the prosthetic?" She pointed at the little red prosthetic fin on the end of Toothless' tail. "We think someone beat him. You know, Night Furies were considered bad luck in the Middle Ages, that's why they're so rare nowadays."

Toothless leapt off Dagny's head and landed on the ground. He stalked towards Hiccup, his green eyes squinted. Hiccup bent down and smiled at the dragon, who nudged his hand. Hiccup raised his hand slightly and allowed Toothless to press his nose against his palm.

"He likes ya," smiled Dagny.

"I'll take him."


	4. Gringotts and the Wandmaker

**The Batman theme is stuck in my head for some reason...**

**Huh.**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, m'lovelies! I have to go and do some stuff for my Science class now... UGH.**

* * *

Hiccup stumbled out of Dagny's Dragons, laughing loudly as Toothless climbed around his shoulders excitedly, pawing at his neck and tugging at his hair. He grabbed the dragon around his stomach and pulled him off his head.

"Thanks, Gobber," grinned Hiccup when he caught sight of the large blond man. "He's brilliant!"

"A Nigh' Fury?" asked Gobber uncertainly. "Y' sure, lad? They're supposed t' be bad luck."

"I don't believe in that kind of stuff," replied Hiccup. "His name's Toothless. What d'ya think?"

"Well, he is kind o' cute," grinned Gobber, making Hiccup laugh. "Righ', we need t' go t' Gringotts now. Y' need some money."

"I don't have any money," said Hiccup. "The Dalgaards have never-"

"Y' don' think your parents lef' y' nothin', do y'?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Hiccup was trailing after Gobber through an enormous marble building, clutching Toothless to his chest nervously as he stared around at all of the goblins (goblins! Gobber had told him they'd be at the bank, but nothing had prepared him for what he would see) who were weighing coins and writing things down in their large leather-bound books.

Gobber coughed when they reached the back of the room, successfully gaining the goblin, who was sat behind a very tall desk,'s attention.

"Hiccup Haddock wants t' make a withdrawal," he said.

"Mm," said the goblin, leaning over and looking down at Hiccup, his beady eyes flicking to the boy's forehead. "And does Hiccup Haddock have his key?"

Gobber reached into his pocket and, after a few seconds, pulled out a tiny brass key.

"Ah!" he cried cheerfully, handing the goblin the key. "There's th' bugger!"

"Mm," said the goblin again, nodding at the key.

"Oh! There's somethin' else, too," muttered Gobber. "Elder Gothi tol' me t' give y' this." He handed the goblin a wrinkled envelope. "It's abou' th' y'-know-wha' in vaul' y'-know-which."

"Very well," replied the goblin. "Follow me."

* * *

One break-neck cart ride beneath the wizarding bank that Hiccup and Toothless had loved, the goblin had been indifferent towards and Gobber had hated later, they reached a vault marked '_687_'.

"Key, please," said the goblin, climbing out of the cart and marching towards the door to the vault.

Gobber, who was looking very green, got out of the cart and handed the goblin the key (which he had put back in his pocket for safe keeping) before leaning against the wall and clutching his chest.

"That was so cool!" cried Hiccup, leaping out of the cart, Toothless sitting on his head and nodding in agreement. "It was like flying! Right, Gobber?"

"Tha' was th' wors'-" Gobber didn't finish his sentence because he had sprinted over to the cart and thrown up into it.

"Ugh," winced Hiccup, recoiling slightly.

Toothless jumped down onto Hiccup's shoulder and buried his nose into Hiccup's neck.

"Sorry, lad," said Gobber.

"Both of you," snapped the goblin irritably as he unlocked the vault. "Hurry up."

Hiccup hurried forwards and his mouth dropped open when the door opened. The room behind it was full of gleaming gold, silver and bronze coins that were in piles that almost reached the ceiling. All of this was his? It couldn't have been, could it? Because if the Dalgaards knew about it (and Hiccup was assuming that they did because they had known about everything else), they'd have had it off him in an instant.

"All yours, Hiccup," said Gobber.

Well, that answered that.

"Now, jus' ge' a sack full o' th' gold ones," Gobber told him, pulling a small brown bag out of his pocket and handing it to Hiccup.

"You need to clean out that cart," the goblin told Gobber, pointing at the cart as Hiccup shoved some coins into the bag.

"Righ'," said Gobber, going over to the cart and pointing his umbrella hand at the bottom of the cart. "_Evanesco_."

"Done!" called Hiccup. "C'mon, Toothless." Toothless (who had been running around the piles of coins excitedly) leapt back up onto Hiccup's shoulder as the boy began to walk back over to the cart.

Hiccup scrambed back into the thankfully vomit-free cart and shifted over so that Gobber and the goblin could climb in, too. Toothless settled himself in Hiccup's lap and got ready to start hurtling down the rickety metal tracks again. Gobber clutched the side of the cart with his real hand and shut his eyes tightly.

"Let's go," said Gobber and the cart shot off.

Toothless leaned up on his front paws and stuck his tongue out, like a dog in a car. Hiccup laughed and leaned over the edge of the cart to try and see down to the very bottom of the cavern, only to be yanked back in by Gobber.

The cart came to a rather abrupt stop in front of yet another vault, this one marked with the number '_713_'. The goblin jumped out of the cart and hurried over to the vault. Carefully, he placed his hand on the hinge and ran his index finger along the length of the door. The door clicked before swinging open to reveal a tiny, grubby looking package tied up with a dirty piece of string.

"Anyone but a Gringotts goblin try that and they'd get pulled straight through the door," the goblin smirked nastily. "We check for people stuck inside about once every ten years."

Hiccup shuddered at the thought of being trapped inside the vault while Toothless got into a defensive stance, unfolding his wings to try and protect Hiccup as he glared at the small package.

"Toothless, what's wrong, bud?" asked Hiccup.

The small dragon growled even louder as the goblin picked up the package and carried it back over to the cart. The goblin handed it to Gobber, who tucked it safely into a pocket on the inside of his coat.

"No' a word t' anyone, Hiccup. Understan'?"

Hiccup nodded as he tried to calm Toothless down.

"Righ', c'mon, let's go. The sooner we're ou' o' this car', th' better."

* * *

"I still need a wand," Hiccup told Gobber as they walked down Diagon Alley.

The two had already bought everything else that Hiccup needed and the boy was now the proud owner of a cauldron, a brand new set of black Hogwarts robes, dragon hide gloves (which, much to Hiccup's relief, were not made from real dragon skin) and the spell books he would need among a few other things that Gobber was now carrying for Hiccup.

"Tha's the bes' bi', I'd say," grinned Gobber. "You'll want Gandalf." Gobber pointed at the old shop that was a little way away from them with a purple sign with gold lettering that read '_Gandalf: Wandmaker Extraordinaire_'. "Bes' wand shop in th' wizarding world. C'mon."

Gobber slapped Hiccup's back cheerfully and began to guide him towards the shop. Hiccup bit his lip in excitement - the magic wand was the bit he had been looking forward to.

They pushed open the door and a bell tinkled somewhere in the shop. Almost instantly, a little old man with thinning grey hair wearing robes of midnight blue hurried over to them.

"You must be Hiccup Haddock," he smiled, looking up at Hiccup as he shook his hand vigorously. "It seems only yesterday that your mother and father were in here buying their first wands! I remember it well. Yes, Valka had a wand of nine inches, holly with a Deadly Nadder heartstring core. Stoick's was thirteen inches, mahogany with crushed fang of a Monstrous Nightmare in the centre. Right then, let's find you a wand, shall we?"

"Oh, okay," said Hiccup.

The man (Hiccup was assuming that his name was Gandalf) hurried off into the maze of shelves behind him. He returned a few minutes later with a wand.

"Ten inches, hawthorn, Gronkle claw," he smiled, handing Hiccup the wand. "Give it a wave."

Hiccup flicked the wand and the window behind him promptly shattered into several thousand pieces.

"Nope," said Gandalf, removing a wand from his pocket and waving it at the window, which repaired itself.

He went back into the shelves at least eight more times, each time bringing back a different wand that caused destruction when handed to Hiccup.

"Try this one. Eleven inches, holly with the scale of a Bewilderbeast for the core," Gandalf told Hiccup, pressing the wand into Hiccup's hand.

His arm from his fingertips to his shoulder tingled when he took the wand and, when he waved it, red and gold sparks burst out of the end of it.

"Woohoo!" cried Gobber. "You've done i', lad!"

"That's curious," muttered Gandalf.

"Sorry, but what's curious?" asked Hiccup.

"The Bewilderbeast is the Alpha Dragon. It has only ever given two of its scales for wands. It's curious that you should be destined for this wand, while its brother gave you the scar on your forehead."


	5. Halloween, 1981 and Platform 9 & 34

**This one counts for our feels-war, CessieRose25! Even though you've already read it... I don't care! Imma win.**

* * *

Hiccup and Gobber sat in a burger bar in Muggle London, Gobber munching on a burger that Hiccup had had to order for him because he didn't understand the 'stupid Muggle money' and Hiccup staring out of the window, deep in thought.

"Y' alrigh', Hiccup? You've been awful quie'," said Gobber, finishing off his burger and licking his lips.

"I'm fine," answered Hiccup. "But I can't stop thinking about what Gandalf said. You know, the thing about the Bewilderbeast and my wand and my scar? Gobber, how did I actually get the scar? How did my parents actually die?"

"I told y' tha' I don' think I'm the righ' person t' tell y', lad," sighed Gobber.

"Please?" asked Hiccup. "I can't go to Hogwarts not knowing, can I? And the Dalgaards aren't going to tell me."

"Alrigh'," said Gobber. "Well, firs' thing y' need t' know is tha' no' all wizards are good. Some go bad. A few years ago, there was one tha' wen' as bad as y' can go. His name was Dr- Dra-D-"

"Why don't you write it down?" said Hiccup, seeing that he was struggling.

"Nah, he's go' a ridiculous las' name tha' I can't spell," said Gobber. "Drago Bludvist."

"You're right," said Hiccup. "That is a ridiculous last name."

Gobber smiled slightly.

"Anyway, he started gaining followers..."

* * *

_Stoick smiled as he watched Valka tickle Hiccup's tummy, making the infant squeal with delight. Although being forced to stay cooped up inside his home for months on end after finding out that he and his family were marked for death was really not an ideal situation, moments like these were something that Stoick treasured. His wife and son both meant the world to him._

_There was a flash of white light that lit up the entire living room. It was coming from the hallway._

_"Val," hissed Stoick. "It's him, i' has t' be! Take Hiccup and run! Go, Val!"_

_Valka nodded, her heart pounding furiously as she clutched Hiccup to her chest and ran from the room. She stumbled up the stairs, sprinted into Hiccup's room and slammed the door shut behind her._

_She heard the door crash to the ground and someone step inside._

_"Where is the boy, Stoick?" hissed a horrible, almost snake-like voice._

_"He's gone. He and Val are gone. Y' won' find them, Drago," Stoick snapped back._

_"You're lying, Stoick. Avada Kedavra!"_

_Something hit the ground with a crash. Stoick._

_Valka could have collapsed right there. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run downstairs and kill Drago Bludvist with her bare hands, forget wands. But she couldn't - she had to protect her baby boy._

_She heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the wooden stairs before the nursery door burst open._

_"Get out of the way, Valka," snapped Drago, brandishing his wand._

_"No!" cried Valka as she placed Hiccup in his crib and stood in front of him, her arms spread to the sides in order to shield her little boy as much as possible._

_"I'll give you one chance," said Drago. "Move or die!"_

_"Please, kill me," begged Valka. "Torture me, anything! Just don't hurt Hiccup! Please! Take me instead..."_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_Valka was dead before she hit the floor._

_Hiccup began to wail as Drago advanced on him, an evil smirk on his face. Why was his mother on the floor? Where was his 'dada'? Who was this person in his room?_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

* * *

"Bu', obviously, i' didn' work," said Gobber. "No one knows wha' i' was, bu' somethin' abou' you stumped him tha' nigh'."

Hiccup nodded, but remained silent. He could hear Toothless scraping at the bars of his cage, which was covered by Gobber's coat. He wanted to get him out and hold him until he felt better, but he couldn't, what with all the Muggles around.

* * *

August was a blur. A surreal blur. Hiccup had been counting down the days until he finally went to Hogwarts and the Dalgaards had been ignoring his existence.

Finally, though, the day arrived.

But there was one problem: the Dalgaards had left Hiccup in the middle of King's Cross Station without a clue where he was supposed to be going. Apparently, Gobber had neglected to inform him of how to get onto 'Platform 9 and 3/4'.

Hiccup pushed his trolley loaded with his school things to the barrier between platforms nine and ten. He was just considering taking out his wand and tapping the barrier when a boy with jet black hair and two blonds, a boy and a girl, pushed passed him, whispering something about 'Muggles'.

Hiccup stared at them, his heart hammering. Well, it was now or never...

"Sorry," he said to the black haired boy, who turned and gave him a look. "How d'you get onto platform nine and three quarters?"

"Raised by Muggles, eh, kid?" asked the boy. Hiccup nodded. "Just follow us, alright?"

"Alright."

Hiccup watched the boy intently as he wheeled his trolley laden with packages back before running towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Just when Hiccup thought he was going to hit the brick wall, he disappeared.

"He went through the wall," the blond boy told Hiccup.

"You next," smirked the girl, shoving him at the wall.

Hiccup winced as he flew at the barrier at top speed.

He ran and ran and just when he thought he was going to get his skull smashed in...

He opened his eyes to see a large, scarlet red steam engine and a sign that read '_Platform 9 & 3/4_'. He had done it. Well, the girl who had shoved him had.

Hiccup grinned and pushed his trolley towards the train, just as the twins came through the barrier at the same time, pushing and shoving each other.

"Hey, kid," said the black haired boy, strolling over to him. "My name's Snotlout."

The boy shook Hiccup's hand rather vigorously.

"And I'm Tuffnut," said the blond boy. "And that idiot's Ruff...butt."

The girl shoved him, making him fall to the ground.

"It's Ruffnut!" she snapped.

"You need some help getting your trunk on the train, kid?" asked Snotlout. "It doesn't really look like you have the arms to lift it."

"Thanks," said Hiccup. "About the getting my trunk on the train thing, not the arms- you know what? Let's just get my trunk on the train."

"I can do it!" grinned Tuffnut, jumping up off the floor, grabbing Hiccup's trunk and attempting to pick it up off the trolley. 'Attempting' being the key word... "I can't pick it up."

"Oh, move," huffed Ruffnut, grabbing the trunk and carrying it up on to the train.

"She's my girlfriend," smirked Snotlout.

"No, I'm not!" Ruffnut yelled from the train. "Hey, look, there's a free compartment!"

Tuffnut leapt on to the train, closely followed by Snotlout and Hiccup, who had grabbed the cage with the cloth over it that contained Toothless. The three of them (four, if you counted Toothless) quickly found Ruffnut, who was shoving Hiccup's trunk into a compartment.

"Uh, don't you need to get your stuff, too?" Hiccup asked the three of them.

"Oh, yeah," said Snotlout. "C'mon, you two."

"D'you need any help?" asked Hiccup.

"Nah," replied Snotlout. "You don't have the arms, remember? See you at Hogwarts, kid!"

The three of them strolled out of the compartment, leaving Hiccup on his own. He sat down in one of the seats and placed Toothless' cage down on the seat next to his. Then, he pulled the cloth off the cage and unlocked it.

Toothless darted out and leapt up onto Hiccup's head, making the boy chuckle.

"Hey, bud," he grinned, grabbing the dragon.

Toothless small gave him a gummy grin and licked his cheek.

"Oh, ew!" yelped Hiccup, half laughing as he wiped the slobber off his face. "I don't think that's gonna wash out, buddy."

The small dragon made an odd sort of shrugging motion (at least, that's what it looked like to Hiccup) before jumping across the compartment and curling up on the seat opposite Hiccup.

"Really? You're sleeping?" asked Hiccup.

Toothless looked up at him and nodded. Then, he buried his face back into his paws and curled his wings up around his body.

"Useless reptile," chuckled Hiccup.

"Hey," came a female voice from the door of his compartment.

Hiccup immediately thought of Ruffnut.

"Oh, hey, Ruff-" Hiccup looked up. "Nut?"

The girl was not Ruffnut.

She looked a little bit shorter than Ruffnut, but definitely taller than him and she had thick blonde hair in two braids that stuck out to the sides slightly. She was wearing a blue T-shirt that was almost the same colour as her eyes, blue jeans and had a red jumper tied around her waist.

"Ruffnut?" asked the girl. "Who's Ruffnut?"

"A person," answered Hiccup, his cheeks turning slightly red.

"Whatever," said the girl. "Mind if I sit there?" She pointed at the seat next to Hiccup. "The only other place that's not completely full has some arrogant kid and two idiot twins in it."

"Yes. I mean, no! I mean, sure, you can sit there," said Hiccup awkwardly, grabbing Toothless' cage and putting it down on the floor.

"Thanks," grinned the girl, showing off one missing tooth next to her front two teeth. "I'm Astrid, by the way. Astrid Hofferson."

She stuck her hand out for Hiccup to shake as she sat down, which he did.

"I'm Hiccup Haddock," said Hiccup.

"Really?" asked Astrid, her eyes widening. "You were in one of my school books! You defeated that Lord guy, didn't you?"

"Drago Bludvist," Hiccup corrected her.

"Yeah, him," said Astrid. "You're not supposed to say his name, though, are you?"

"Why not?" asked Hiccup.

"Not sure," replied Astrid. "But if you're saying it, there's probably no reason not to, right?"

"I guess so," said Hiccup.


	6. Sweets and Pets

**I've changed my mind. It's fun again.**

**I've had so much coffee, though. I'm really excited because of the sheer amount of caffeine that is in me right now.**

* * *

"You were raised by Muggles, weren't you?" asked Astrid.

"Yeah," answered Hiccup.

"Me, too," said Astrid. "I thought Hogwarts was a joke at first - some of the girls at my old school liked to do that to me, that's why I started kickboxing - lost my tooth in a fight, by the way. But, anyway, this man wearing a cloak showed up at my house and told me I was a witch. I nearly punched him. Probably a good thing that I didn't, now that I think about it."

Hiccup chuckled, making her grin.

"I found out about Hogwarts when a man about five times my size kicked down my front door at twelve in the morning and gave me my letter," said Hiccup.

Astrid snorted before clapping her hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking. Hiccup smiled at her.

"Are you related to anyone magic, then?" Hiccup asked Astrid once she had stopped laughing.

"Uh, I don't think so," answered Astrid. "But my cousin is really good at card tricks. His face when I told him I was a witch was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. What about you?"

"My parents were magic, but I don't really know about everyone else in my family," replied Hiccup. "Have you tried any of the spells in our books yet? I think I've got '_lumos_' down, but the light still flickers a bit."

"I bought one of the spellbooks we'll need in second year, out of interest, you know?" said Astrid in an almost sheepish tone. "And I've managed to learn '_expelliarmus_'. Want to see?"

"Sure," said Hiccup.

"Alright," grinned Astrid, pulling her wand out of her pocket. "Get your wand."

"'Kay," said Hiccup, picking his wand up off the seat that he had dropped it on.

"Right," coughed Astrid. "_Expelliarmus_!"

She waved her wand at Hiccup's. His wand flew out of his hand and hit the wall behind him.

"Wow!" came a voice from the door of the compartment. "That was almost a second year level disarming charm! How did you do that?"

Hiccup glanced at the door to see a large blond boy who was much taller than both him and Astrid. He was already dressed in his school robes and he was clutching his wand.

"I just... did it," answered Astrid. "Who are you?"

"Fishlegs Ingerman," replied the boy, holding his hand out for her to shake, which she did.

"Astrid Hofferson," said Astrid.

Fishlegs turned to Hiccup and stuck his hand out. Hiccup shook it.

"Hiccup Haddock," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs let out a little squeak and stumbled backwards, clapping his hands over his mouth.

"Really?" he asked. "Wow! I've heard all about you! Were you really raised by Muggles? Do you really have a lightning scar on your forehead? Did you really slay that enormous, evil dragon when you were seven?"

"Uh, yes, yes and no," answered Hiccup.

"Cool," said Fishlegs in an awestruck voice. "Can I sit with you guys? All the other compartments are full up."

"I don't mind," said Hiccup.

"Me, either," said Astrid.

"Toothless," said Hiccup, making the dragon perk his ears up and glance up at Hiccup sleepily. "C'mere, bud."

Toothless let out a little yawn, stretched his back out like a cat and leapt into Hiccup's arms.

"When did he get there?" asked Astrid, scrunching her eyebrows together.

"He's always been there," answered Hiccup.

"Huh," said Astrid, shrugging her shoulders and sticking her wand back in her pocket.

"Is that a Night Fury?" asked Fishlegs, sitting down in Toothless' vacated seat.

"Yeah," replied Hiccup. "He's not bad luck, so don't freak out. I've had him for nearly a month and I haven't broken any bones or died or anything like that, okay?"

"He's cute," smiled Astrid and Fishlegs at the same time.

Toothless looked up at them, excited to meet someone other than Hiccup, and gave them a gummy grin before jumping out of Hiccup's arms and snuggling up to Astrid. Hiccup gave him an exasperated look.

"Traitorous dragon," he huffed, making Astrid laugh.

Hiccup grinned and glanced out of the window. Fields of green and trees were rushing by. When had they left the platform? Hiccup couldn't even remember the train starting to move.

"When do you think we'll get there?" asked Astrid, sitting down, still cuddling Toothless.

"Around six," replied Fishlegs. "If we left at exactly eleven, at least."

"What time is it now?" asked Hiccup.

"One," answered Astrid, glancing down at the watch on her wrist.

"Hey, kid!" grinned Snotlout as he and the twins strolled into the compartment. "I just realised that we don't know your name."

"It's Hiccup Haddock," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup Haddock?" asked Snotlout. "Really?"

"Yeah," answered Hiccup.

"Cool," said Snotlout. "Do you have any idea what house you're gonna be in, then?"

"Huh?" asked Hiccup.

"I'll be in Slytherin, obviously. I mean, my dad is the head of Slytherin house, so he'll probably kill me if I'm not, but I would've been in it anyway," Snotlout told Hiccup.

"Right," said Hiccup.

"What other houses are there?" asked Astrid.

"Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw," Fishlegs told her. "I want to be in Ravenclaw, personally."

"Ew, why?" asked Ruffnut.

"Because the common room's close to the library and Ravenclaws tend to do well in their exams, so-"

"I don't care what house I'm in," said Tuffnut. "As long as the food at Hogwarts is good."

"Speaking of food," said Snotlout. "I think the food cart's coming 'round soon. Everybody gimme some money, I'll get us some of everything."

Everybody pulled some money out of their pockets and handed it to Snotlout. The boy hurried out of the compartment and came back five minutes later, clutching an armful of brightly coloured sweets.

"Here we are," he grinned. "Dig in, losers."

He dumped the pile of sweets on one of the empty seats and quickly grabbed a small purple box that read '_Chocolate Frogs_'.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans?" said Hiccup, looking down at the packet of coloured sweets in his hand.

"And gods, do they mean it," shuddered Ruffnut.

"Yeah, there's uh... chocolate, peppermint..." began Fishlegs.

"Oh, also spinach, liver and tripe," finished Snotlout. "Tuffnut swears he got a bogey flavoured one once.

"I did!" cried Tuffnut.

"BLECH!" shrieked Astrid, spitting out the contents of her mouth.

"What did you get?" asked Hiccup, trying to refrain from laughing.

"Fairly sure that was bogey flavoured..." sighed Astrid.

"YEOW!" bellowed Tuffnut, jumping about a foot into the air. "Something bit me!"

Snotlout yelled, Fishlegs screamed, Ruffnut laughed, Hiccup's eyes widened and Astrid spotted something.

"Fiddlesticks!" she shouted, lunging at Tuffnut and grabbing something off the back of his T-shirt. "Stupid rat..."

"Whoa... what happened?" asked Fishlegs.

"Sorry... family pet," apologised Astrid, clutching a fat grey rat.

"A rat?" asked Hiccup.

"He's been in the family for... I dunno... ten years, now, I think?" said Astrid. "Dunno how he's lived this long, to be honest. I mean, he's not a magical rat. I guess I'm just really good at looking after rats." She shrugged. "His name's Fiddlesticks... pathetic, isn't he?"

"Just a little bit," shrugged Hiccup.

"He almost bit my finger off!" yelled Tuffnut, cradling his bleeding index finger.

"No one cares, Butt Elf," smirked Ruffnut.

"Oh, no!" groaned Snotlout, holding up a purple card. "I got Gothi again!"

"Ooh, can I have it?" asked Fishlegs. "I still don't have her."

"Here," huffed Snotlout, handing Fishlegs the Chocolate Frog card. "I practically know the stuff on it off by heart now, anyway. Blah, blah, blah, Elder Gothi, blah, blah, Dragon's Blood Stone, blah, blah, blah."

"Thanks."

"Hey, shouldn't we change into our robes?" asked Astrid. "It's half five. We'll be at school soon."

"Probably," said Tuffnut.

"Get out!" Ruffnut snapped, ushering the four boys out of the compartment.

"Women," sighed Snotlout, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "Crazy, all of them..."

"Astrid's nice," said Hiccup, his cheeks flushing red.

"Ooh, somebody has a crush!" grinned Snotlout, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Wh-? No! Definitely not! She's just a friend," said Hiccup.

"Tell me that in a few years, kid," smirked Snotlout.

Hiccup huffed and crossed his arms. He had only met Astrid a few hours ago and he most definitely didn't like her in that way. And he never would. Ever.

"Alright, you can come back in," said Astrid, poking her head out of the door, wearing her school robes.

The boys filed back into the compartment.

"Get changed," said Astrid. "C'mon, Ruff."

She grabbed Ruffnut's arm and dragged her out of the compartment, much to Ruffnut's annoyance.

Once all of the boys were changed, Ruffnut and Astrid burst back into the compartment.

"You still have Fiddlesticks?" Hiccup asked Astrid, who nodded.

"I''m not gonna lose him, I swear," grinned Astrid. "But, uh, where's Toothless?"

"Up in the luggage compartment," answered Hiccup, pointing up at the compartment above them, which Toothless was hanging off by his tail, like a bat.

"Did you get your wand, by the way? You know, after I blasted it out of your hand?" asked Astrid.

Hiccup nodded.

"The correct term would be that you disarmed him," Astrid glared at Fishlegs. "But your version's good, too! Don't hit me..."

"She's not gonna hit you, Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

"Wanna bet?" Astrid muttered. Hiccup shot her an exasperated look. "What?"

"_We will be arriving at Hogwarts in exactly five minutes. Please leave your luggage and pets on the train as they will be brought up separately._"

"C'mere, bud," said Hiccup, making Toothless jump down from the luggage compartment and into his outstretched arms. "You're gonna have to go in your cage."

Toothless whined, annoyed as Hiccup placed him back inside his cage.

"And you, Fiddlesticks," said Astrid, taking the rat out of her pocket and stuffing him into his cage, which she had gotten out of her trunk when she and Ruffnut were changing. "Not that you really care..."

The train came to a steady halt and Hiccup rushed to the window. It was dark already and the moon was full. Above the layer of trees and houses that blocked his view, he could just make out a large, sloped roof. Was that part of Hogwarts?

"C'mon, guys."


	7. Hogwarts and the Sorting

**I seriously can't think of anything to say...**

**Hope you like the chapter!**

* * *

Hiccup glanced over at Astrid, who shot him a nervous grin as the other four kids hurried out of the compartment.

"Are you as nervous as I am?" asked Hiccup.

"Probably not," smiled Astrid. "You're shaking like a leaf."

"Am I?" asked Hiccup.

"Yep," said Astrid, grabbing his forearm. "Let's go."

The two followed Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins off the train. Hiccup was still shaking, but Astrid didn't mention it. She did keep hold of his arm, though, because, even though she wasn't trembling, she was absolutely terrified of what she would find when they reached Hogwarts.

"Hey, Hiccup!"

Hiccup looked over at the source of the voice to see Gobber, who was waving enthusiastically at him and grinning madly.

A wide smile broke out on Hiccup's face and he pulled Astrid over to meet him.

"Hey, Gobber," Hiccup grinned. "Astrid, this is Gobber. He's the guy who bust down my door."

"Hi," said Astrid.

"Alrigh', lass?" said Gobber. "Anyway, Hiccup, y' ready t' go t' Hogwarts?"

"I'm terrified," said Hiccup. "So's Astrid, but she won't admit it, see."

"I''m not!" cried Astrid indignantly, whacking Hiccup on the arm, making him wince and recoil.

Gobber chuckled, smirking down at the two eleven year olds.

"Watch i', lass! His dad was one o' the strongest people I know! Hiccup could be able t' lift y' over his head by th' time you're in fourth year!"

"That's very unlikely," said Hiccup, his cheeks turning red as Astrid glared at him.

"Yeah, not gonna happen," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Righ', duty calls," grinned Gobber. "Firs' years! Firs' years, over here, please!"

Once all of the first years had gathered around Gobber, he led them towards a small harbour, where lots of little wooden boats were docked.

"Four t' a boa'," called Gobber.

"Where are the others?" Astrid whispered to Hiccup.

"Dunno," replied Hiccup. "Come on, let's just get in a boat."

Astrid nodded and the two clambered into the first boat they saw, which was next to the one that Gobber was getting into. Two kids climbed in behind Hiccup and Astrid and Gobber turned to look at the first years.

"Everyone in? Alrigh', let's go!" he cried.

The boats pushed off from the harbour on their own, making Hiccup and Astrid (and the other Muggle-borns) jump slightly.

"Hiccup, look!" gasped Astrid after they had been sailing for a few minutes. She pointed up at something, a completely awestruck look on her face. "Wow..."

Hiccup looked up and his breath got caught in his throat.

There, silhouetted against the moon and stars, was the castle of Hogwarts. Every window had a warm orange glow spilling from it and even the grey stone walls somehow looked inviting.

That was where he was going to live for the next seven years. That was where he was going to spend his teenage years. That was where he was going to learn magic.

That was the place he hadn't been quite sure existed up until this point.

The first years stared up at the castle in absolute wonder until, quite suddenly, the boats bumped into the bank on the other side of the lake. A stern looking blonde woman wearing robes of dark red was standing and waiting for them.

"Good evening, children," she said. "I'll take it from here, Gobber, thank you."

"Alrigh', Professor Phlegma," said Gobber, walking up to the doors of the castle.

"Now, children," said Phlegma. "When you walk through these doors, you will be sorted into your houses. These houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. During the seven years that you attend this school, your house will be like your family. You will spend free time in your house common rooms, sleep in your house dorms and sit with your house at lunch. Understand? Good. Let's go, then."

She turned of her heel and started towards the castle with long, purposeful strides - the students behind her struggled to keep up.

They walked through the enormous wooden doors and came into a large hall that, Hiccup noticed, you could probably fit five number four, Privet Drives in quite comfortably. Phlegma then led them through another set of doors.

Hundreds of children from ages twelve to seventeen were sat at four long tables, all wearing robes and hats of black. At the very end of the hall, there was a table covered with a deep purple cloth where all the teachers were sat. At the centre of that table, sat in a golden throne of sorts, was a little old lady with white hair in two thick braids.

"That's Elder Gothi, isn't it?" Hiccup whispered to Astrid, who nodded.

"Look at the ceiling!" Astrid hissed.

Hiccup looked up to see the starry, inky black sky that he had seen outside above him. Whether there was actually no roof there, or if this was another magic trick, Hiccup didn't know, but he supposed he could ask Fishlegs later.

Gothi stood up and bowed at the first years, a warm smile on her wrinkled face.

"Let the Sorting Ceremony begin!" called Phlegma.

Phlegma pulled her wand out of her robes and waved it once. An old, tattered wizard's hat appeared out of thin air and landed gracefully on the stool that was sitting in the middle of the slightly raised platform where the teachers' table was.

She unrolled a piece of old parchment and glanced down at it. Then she looked back out at the crowd of shaking eleven year olds.

"Astrid Hofferson!"

Astrid flinched and grabbed Hiccup's wrist. Hiccup looked down at her hand before gently easing his wrist out of her grip. He nudged her slightly and she began to walk towards the stool. As she did, Phlegma picked up the hat to allow her to sit down.

When Astrid was seated, the older woman placed the hat on her head.

"_GRYFFINDOR_!" bellowed the hat, making some of the first years yelp and the table that was covered with a red and gold tablecloth erupt into cheers.

Astrid breathed a sigh of relief, removed the hat from her head, handed it to Phlegma and hurried over to sit down at the cheering table.

"Axel Bergman!"

"_GRYFFINDOR_!"

"Brand Engman!"

"_HUFFLEPUFF_!"

"Dagur Galen!"

A boy who, though was obviously only eleven years old, must have been at least four inches taller than Hiccup sauntered up to the stool and sat down. The hat had barely touched his head when it shrieked, "_SLYTHERIN_!"

"Oh, yeah!" shouted Dagur as the green table started to applaud him. "Who's the man?!"

Then he strode over to the table, a wide smirk on his lips.

"Erik Madsen!"

"_GRYFFINDOR_!"

A few more names were called and then it was Fishlegs' turn. The boy nervously walked up, his whole body shaking violently. Phlegma placed the hat on his head and, almost instantly, it yelled, "_RAVENCLAW_!"

An enormous smile appeared on Fishlegs' face and he sprinted over to the blue table still wearing the hat - he had to jog back and hand it back to Phlegma, apologising profusely.

"Gudrid Frank!"

"_HUFFLEPUFF_!"

"Heather Strand!"

A pretty girl with jet black hair in a single braid down her back and bright green eyes hurried up to the stool.

"_RAVENCLAW_!"

More names and then, finally...

"Hiccup Haddock!"

Murmurs and whispers started around the hall as Hiccup made his way up. People were shushing each other, but it wasn't really helping.

Hiccup sat down and squeezed his eyes shut as the hat was placed on his head.

'_Hmm, difficult_,' the hat whispered into Hiccup's ear.'_You'd do well in all of the houses. Especially Slytherin and Gryffindor. Difficult indeed..._'

'_Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor_,' Hiccup chanted in his mind, desperately wanting to be in the same house as his first ever friend (apart from Toothless and Gobber).

'_Gryffindor, eh? Are you sure? You could be great in Slytherin, you know. No? Well, if you're sure, it better be._.."

"_GRYFFINDOR_!"

"Yes!" Astrid yelled from the Gryffindor table as Hiccup hurried over to her, making him laugh as he sat down next to her.

She gave him a hearty whack on the arm before ruffling his already messy hair.

"Isgerd Fisker!"

"_HUFFLEPUFF_!"

"Jokul Abel!"

"_GRYFFINDOR_!"

"Kjar Blom!"

"_RAVENCLAW_!"

"Lofthaena Ness!"

"_HUFFLEPUFF_!"

"Melnir Lindholm!"

"_SLYTHERIN_!"

"Nott Svenson!"

"_RAVENCLAW_!"

"Olaf Haugen!"

"_HUFFLEPUFF_!"

"Ruffnut Thorston!"

Ruffnut flicked one of her long braids over her shoulder and made her way up to the stool. Phlegma placed the hat on her head and it wasn't long before it yelled, "_SLYTHERIN_!"

Ruffnut walked over to the green table and sat down, looking quite pleased with herself.

"Snotlout Jorgenson!"

Snotlout looked up at the teachers' table and locked eyes with the man sat at the end of it, who glared at him. Snotlout nodded at the man before making his way up to the stool.

The hat was silent for a good few minutes, and Hiccup could see that Snotlout was turning slightly green.

"_SLYTHERIN_!"

Snotlout looked over at the man again, who looked away from him. He then made his way down to the green table and sat down next to Ruffnut.

"Tuffnut Thorston!"

Tuffnut rushed up to the hat excitedly and jammed it onto his head.

"_SLYTHERIN_!"

"Ulf Frisk!"

"_GRYFFINDOR_!"

"Vaetild Gunnarsen!"

"_HUFFLEPUFF_!"

"Wren Svenson!"

"_GRYFFINDOR_!"

Phlegma rolled up the parchment and smiled.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years!" she called, making all the students in the hall cheer. "Now, Elder Gothi has asked me to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is, quite obviously, still forbidden. And our caretaker, Mildew, wants you to know that the third floor corridor, on the right hand side is out of bounds this year. Now, dig in!"


	8. Dagur Galen and Potions

**Guys, I'm so excited! I've been writing two new fics! One is the Dragon Games (I have a terrible history with Hunger Games fics, but I'm gonna do this one, I swear! Hiccup is Katniss, so it's gonna be more fun for me to write), and another one that I can't say anything about yet, but I think you guys are gonna like it :)**

**Anyway, please enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Hiccup looked down at the glittering gold plates in front of him. Before they had been completely clean, but now they were piled high with food.

"I'm starving," grinned Astrid, picking up a chicken leg and biting into it. "Mm, yum."

Hiccup chuckled at her and began to pile food onto his plate. He had never been starved when he lived with the Dalgaards, but he had never been allowed to eat as much as he wanted. And it didn't help that Rolf would take anything that Hiccup liked, even if he hated it or it made him sick to his stomach.

He glanced up at the teachers' table and locked eyes with a black haired man at the end of the table. He was talking to another man, who was wearing a bright purple turban, but he stopped speaking as soon as he spotted Hiccup. Hiccup's scar began to burn and he clapped a hand to his forehead, wincing at the sudden pain.

"You alright?" asked Astrid, nudging Hiccup's arm.

"Fine," replied Hiccup. "Just a headache. Don't worry. Who d'you think that man is?"

Hiccup pointed at the man who had glared at him, who had turned back to the man with the turban.

"Not sure," said Astrid before turning around and looking at the table covered by a yellow cloth. "Hey!"

A muscular boy of about fourteen turned around to face her. He had black hair tied back into a sort of ponytail and light brown eyes.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Who's that man?" asked Astrid, gesturing up at the man Hiccup had pointed out.

"Which one?" asked the boy. "The one with the turban's Professor Tryggr, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Only started a month before the end of last year and he's a bit of a joke. The creepy looking bloke? That's Professor Spitelout, the Potions Master and the head of Slytherin. Been here for ages. Bit obsessed with potions, he is, but everyone knows that he'd rather be teaching about the Dark Arts."

"Thanks, uh..."

"Eret," smiled the boy. "Course I know who you are." He looked at Hiccup, who smiled awkwardly. "And who are you?" He looked back at Astrid.

"Astrid," said Astrid.

"Well, I'll see you around, first years," said Eret before turning back around to chat with the girl sat across from him.

"There's your answer," said Astrid. "Professor Spitelout. Snotlout said that was his dad, right?"

"I think so," answered Hiccup. "He does look a bit like 'Lout, doesn't he?"

"I suppose so," said Astrid.

Hiccup and Astrid chatted all the way through the feast. They talked more about their home lives and what schools they had attended before Hogwarts, they discussed their favourite colours (Hiccup found out that Astrid's was blue, while Astrid discovered that Hiccup was particularly fond of green) and even their favourite types of food.

It only seemed like they had been talking for five minutes when Phlegma and Gothi stood up and the food on the plates vanished again.

"Elder Gothi has asked me to tell you that she hopes you enjoyed the feast-" This was met by a loud cheer from the students. "-and that it's about time that you all popped off to bed. Yes, that also means you, seventh years. Oh, first years need to follow their house prefects to their common rooms!"

"Come on," said Astrid, standing up. "I'm tired."

Hiccup stood up and followed Astrid over to a tall, fifth year boy with blonde hair, who was shouting about how the Gryffindor first years needed to follow him.

The boy led them out of the hall and they were quickly followed by the first years from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

"Wait here a minute, first years," said the prefect. "I need to talk to Professor Phlegma about the password for a second."

"So the great Hiccup Haddock has come to Hogwarts?"

Hiccup turned around (and then looked up) to see the boy who he thought was called Dagur smirking down at him.

"Not so sure about 'great' but... yeah. Dagur, right?" said Hiccup.

"Hey, right in one, little buddy!" cried Dagur, throwing his arm around Hiccup, who flinched.

"Uh... d'ya mind? Personal space, please?"

"Ya know, Hiccup? I can't imagine how disappointed you must be to have landed in Gryffindor," sighed Dagur, ignoring the shorter boy.

"Wha-? Disappointed? Why would-?" began Hiccup, but Dagur cut him off.

"There're a whole load of rumours going around saying how the Hat was planning to put you in Slytherin! I mean, come on! We're, like, only the best house in the school!"

Hiccup shrugged Dagur's arm off his shoulder, feeling extremely uncomfortable as Astrid glared up at Dagur.

"I'm pretty sure people say that about their house regardless..."

"It's such a shame that you landed in the same house as a Mu-" started Dagur.

"Muggle-born?" offered Astrid, crossing her arms. "So what if I'm a Muggle-born?"

"So everything that you are!" snapped Dagur. "And I was actually going to say 'Mudblood'."

"Leave her alone," scowled Hiccup.

"Come on, Hiccup. During your time here, I guarantee that you'll find out that some wizards come from better families than others. You don't want to be hanging around with the wrong sort."

"The 'wrong' sort?!" cried Astrid indignantly.

"I can help you there," smirked Dagur, sticking his hand out for Hiccup to shake.

"You know what? I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks. Let's go, Astrid," said Hiccup, grabbing Astrid's wrist and pulling her away a lot more forcefully than he had intended, but Astrid didn't seem to mind.

Dagur was left standing speechless as Snotlout and the twins ran over to Hiccup and Astrid.

"Man, what did you just do?!" demanded Tuffnut.

"Declined an offer of friendship from a total jerk, that's what," answered Hiccup, letting go of Astrid.

"Hiccup, do you know who that guy is?" asked Snotlout.

"Dagur Galen, why?" said Astrid.

"Guys, the Galens are only, like, one of the most powerful wizarding families on the planet! My dad's friends with Oswald - Dagur's father - but there were rumours that they were in league with the Dragon Lord!" said Snotlout worriedly.

"He was being a jerk to the both of us, had no sense of personal space and tried to take me away from the first real friend I've ever had! What'd you expect me to do? Kiss his boots?" said Hiccup sarcastically.

"Gryffindor first years! This way, please!" called the prefect.

"See you later," said Hiccup.

The prefect led the Gryffindor first years up a set of stone stairs.

Hiccup's mouth fell open as he looked up. Staircases were swinging around of their own accord, stopping occasionally to pick up a student or two before going off again. Portraits lined the stone walls, and they were all moving.

"Uh, how are those paintings moving?" Astrid whispered to Hiccup, who shrugged and continued to stare.

The prefect led them up what seemed like hundreds of flights of stairs before they reached a painting of a large woman wearing a pink dress with brown hair in little ringlets around her head.

"This is the Fat Lady," said the prefect. "The guardian of the Gryffindor tower."

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked, smiling gently at the awestruck eleven years olds in front of her.

"Deadly Nadder," said the prefect.

"Correct," smiled the Fat Lady.

And with that, the portrait swung forwards to reveal a small archway that led into a sort of living room. The walls were covered with what looked like red carpets and the floor was exactly the same. Several comfy-looking, red armchairs and sofas were gathered around the stone fireplace, which already had flickering orange flames dancing about inside it.

"Boys, your dorms are up the stairs and on your left. Girls, the same on your right," said the prefect. "All of your things have been put in your rooms for you already. Now, off to bed, you lot. You start classes tomorrow, and you'll want to have lots of energy, won't you?"

After nodding in agreement, the tired first years began to make their way towards the stairs.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," said Hiccup, looking at Astrid.

"See you tomorrow," smiled Astrid. "Goodnight, Hiccup."

"Night."

* * *

"Would you hurry up?!" snapped Astrid, gripping Hiccup's wrist tightly and sprinting down one of the empty corridors of the castle, dragging him along after her.

They had been up early that morning, and, as soon as they were both dressed in their school robes, they had met down in the common room and gone straight down to breakfast, where they met Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Ruffnut and Snotlout, who had all positioned themselves at the Gryffindor table, earning themselves a glare from the Slytherin table, a grin from the Hufflepuffs and a confused look from the Ravenclaws.

But, of course, Astrid, who had never been good with directions, had managed to get both herself and Hiccup lost on their way to Potions. They had lost Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout, who had Potions with them, and Fishlegs had set off in the opposite direction for Charms.

"I don't want to be late!" Astrid hissed.

"Bit _late_ for that," chuckled Hiccup, earning himself a death glare.

"Not the time for puns, Haddock," Astrid snapped.

"Sorry, sorry," grinned Hiccup.

"Ah! Here we are! See! I told you I knew where I was going, didn't I?" smirked Astrid, panting slightly as she led Hiccup towards an old classroom with the words: '_Professor Spitelout Jorgenson, Potions_' written on the door.

She pushed open the door and marched into the room, her head held high as Hiccup hurried in after her, shutting the door behind them quietly.

"Where have you two been?" came a low, cold voice from somewhere in the shadows at the back of the class.

"Sorry, sir," said Astrid. "We got a little bit..." She trailed off as Professor Spitelout strolled out into the light.

He was a very tall man with greasy black hair and lots of stubble. Even though he was wearing full length, black robes that covered his arms, you could clearly see that he was very musclar, and could probably, Hiccup thought with a gulp, snap a table leg in half with one hand.

"Lost," squeaked Astrid, in an uncharacteristically small voice.

"Sit down," hissed Professor Spitelout, pointing at the only free desk, which had two seats behind it.

Hiccup and Astrid practically tripped over themselves to sit down, not wanting to anger Spitelout any further.

As Hiccup sat down, he reached down into his bag and quickly yanked out some parchment, a quill and a pot of ink. Astrid did the same not a moment later.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," snapped Spitelout, strolling towards the front of the classroom. "Potions is a very subtle art that teaches patience and discipline."

Hiccup glanced over at Astrid briefly, who was toying with a strand of her hair and watching Spitelout with rapt attention.

"Not everyone is capable of making a potion that won't kill anyone near it within five minutes," scowled Spitelout, glaring over at Snotlout, who was sat at the front of the classroom. Snotlout shrank back in his seat. "But there are some, who can fully appreciate the beauty of a simmering potion." His gaze flickered over to Dagur, who smirked.

Hiccup glanced down at the table, feeling quite bad for Snotlout, who was also looking quite downcast. Why was his father so mean to him? He might even have been worse than the-

"Mister Haddock!"

Hiccup's head snapped up as all eyes turned to him.

"Tell me," grinned Spitelout. "What potion could I make with only a crushed Rumblehorn claw and Deadly Nadder venom?"

"Uh, um," stammered Hiccup. What was a Rumblehorn? He guessed it was some kind of dragon, as that was what a Deadly Nadder was, but he didn't know what it looked like or what potion its claws made! "I... don't know, sir."

Astrid slowly raised her hand, biting her lip as she did so. Spitelout ignored her.

"And what if I asked you what I would need to add to Monstrous Nightmare spit to make a potion to relieve the common cold?" asked Spitelout.

"I wouldn't know, sir," said Hiccup, feeling his cheeks heat up. He looked at Astrid, whose hand was still in the air. "But I think Astrid might."

Spitelout scowled at him.

"Put your hand down, you silly girl," he snapped, glaring at Astrid, who slowly lowered her hand. "For your information, Haddock, the crushed claw of a Rumblehorn and Deadly Nadder venom makes a tracking potion, which, when swallowed, will always show the location of the drinker with the proper spell. You have to add Fireworm venom to Nightmare spit to cure a cold. Well? Why aren't you all writing that down?"

Astrid snatched up her quill as fast as lightning and began to scribble on the yellowing parchment in front of her. Hiccup, however, was glaring up at Spitelout.

"Copy down what I just said, Haddock, or you'll be getting a detention during your first lesson at Hogwarts," said Spitelout. "And, clearly, fame isn't everything, is it?"

"No, sir," spat Hiccup, clenching his right hand as he began to scrawl what Spitelout had told the class.

Astrid glanced over at him and furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what had gotten him so worked up. Sure, Spitelout had made some snide comments about him, but Hiccup wasn't the type of person to get too offended about things like that. So why was he so annoyed?

* * *

As soon as Potions was over, Hiccup stuffed his parchment, quill and ink pot back into his bag and walked out of the classroom, leaving Astrid to run to catch up with him (which wasn't hard seeing as she was an inch taller than him).

"What's up?" asked Astrid, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Nothing," replied Hiccup.

"Seriously," said Astrid. "Tell me. Now."

"Spitelout insulted you," answered Hiccup. "What've we got next?"

"Transfiguration, and what?" asked Astrid.

"Spitelout insulted you and was being a jerk to his own son," said Hiccup. "So he has not earned my respect."


	9. Late Nights Talks and Buttons

**Dear CessieRose25, beware. Mwa ha ha! *coughing***

**In other news, I wanted to let you lovelies know that I'm working on another fic (Hiccstrid, Hiccstrid, OI, OI, OI!) that should be up as soon as I'm finished with Titanic (V2). No summary yet, but I think you guys'll like it! Well, I'm hoping you guys'll like it...**

**Also! Before this chapter was edited, I got a couple of reviews saying that Hiccup was kind of OOC in it. But I have a reason! He's eleven, he's not really... Hiccup yet. He's still kind of in the process of becoming a sarcastic little badass, okay? :)**

**Anyway! On with the story!**

* * *

Toothless was purring in his sleep as he snuggled up to Hiccup, his warm belly making the eleven year old's chest toasty warm. Hiccup wrapped his arms around the little black dragon and buried his cheek into his scaly head.

It was odd, being at Hogwarts. Everyone (apart from Dagur and his two second year cronies, Dogsbreath and Magnus) seemed to welcome him, and, though Hiccup could have definitely done without all the whispering and pointing at his scar, he had been shown more love in the two - almost three - days that he had been there than he had in his whole life with the Dalgaards.

Astrid was the best friend he had ever had. Well, she was the first _human_ friend his own age that he had ever had. Ever. Rolf didn't like him having friends, see.

Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Ruffnut and Snotlout were great, too. Especially Fishlegs, who was quickly becoming his second best human friend. The boy had helped him with his homework earlier that night in the Gryffindor common room, while the other three had chased each other around the red armchairs, much to the annoyance of the stressed out seventh years and a grumpy, tired Astrid.

Toothless was something else altogether. The little dragon seemed to understand him in a way that not even Astrid could. And though Hiccup couldn't really understand him all that well, he knew that Toothless knew that that didn't hinder their friendship in any way at all.

It was safe to say that Hiccup absolutely loved Hogwarts. He hadn't even been there a week and he had already decided that there was no better place in the whole world, but it was still a bit weird being there.

He had found out from Gobber that both of his parents had been Gryffindors, too. So whenever he was sat in a chair in the common room, he was wondering if his mother had once sat in that chair. And when he walked into a classroom, he desperately wanted to know if his father had been taught in it.

He now knew that he slept in the dorm room that his father had.

Earlier that night, he had knocked his pillow to the floor while trying to get comfortable, and when he went to pick it up, something caught his eye. When he had crawled under the bed to get a closer look, he had found that the words '_1973, the Vikings, Gobber B, Alvin T, Savage O and Stoick H_' had been carved into the wood beneath the mattress.

That little finding had made his heart almost burst with joy... before he had started sobbing and went over to sit by the window that looked out over the Black Lake. Luckily for him, the other boys in his dorm were already asleep and couldn't hear him. Toothless had crawled over to him as soon as he heard him get up.

Hiccup stared at the lake, which was sparkling in the light of the full moon. It was comforting to know that he was close to his parents, but at the same time, it was... he wasn't really sure. Strange, he guessed.

"Hiccup?" came a soft voice from the door to the boys' glanced over to see Astrid.

Her hair was messy and falling into her eyes, and her blue pyjamas were slightly too big for her, but he was glad she was there, all the same.

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd wake you up," said Astrid, walking over and sitting across from him, the tips of her toes just inches from Hiccup's.

"That's kind of you," Hiccup whispered sarcastically, hastily wiping his eyes when Astrid glanced out of the window.

She chuckled softly.

"You alright?" she asked. "You've been crying, haven't you?"

Well, the plan of wiping his eyes had flown out of the window and landed in the lake...

"Are you homesick?" asked Astrid.

"Gods, no," said Hiccup. "This is definitely the best place ever."

"I know, it is," smiled Astrid. "But that doesn't mean you can't miss your real home."

"I think this is my real home," said Hiccup, who was wondering whether or not he should show Astrid the carving. He decided against it, feeling as if he should keep it a secret for a little bit longer.

"Alright," said Astrid. "Look, try to get some sleep, alright? We have Transfiguration again in the morning, and you know what Phlegma's like. She'll have our heads if we're late."

"Okay," said Hiccup, shifting Toothless so that he could stand up. "I'll see you in the morning, then?"

"Common room," replied Astrid. "G'night."

As she left the room, Hiccup crawled back into bed. He reached down and began to absent-mindedly trace the carving of his father's name with his index finger. He fell asleep a few minutes later, and his hand went limp.

* * *

Hiccup and Astrid were actually the first two in Transfiguration that morning, because Astrid had allowed Hiccup to lead the way for once.

Fishlegs had come in a few minutes after them and sat down next to Hiccup, who grinned at him.

"I saw Dagur this morning," said Fishlegs. "He was going on to Dogsbreath and Magnus about how he has his first flying lesson today. We don't have a flying lesson today, do we?"

"We do, actually," said Astrid. "I saw on the notice board last night. The Gryffindors are with the Slytherins, though, so I don't know if you have one."

Fishlegs groaned. "I don't want a flying lesson! I'll just embarrass myself!"

"You won't, 'Legs," smiled Hiccup encouragingly. "I'm sure you'll be great! Wait, what does a flying lesson involve, exactly?"

"Well," said Fishlegs. "They give you one of the older Gronckles-"

"Gronckle?" asked Hiccup.

"One of those boulder-like dragons - and you have to enlarge them using some spell, or something, and then they teach you how to fly them," said Fishlegs.

"What for?" asked Hiccup.

"For Dragon Racing," replied Fishlegs. "It's a wizard sport. I love it! My dad said he'd take me to the World Cup in '94!"

"What's Dragon Racing?" Hiccup asked Astrid, ignoring Fishlegs as he rambled to himself about the best rocks to feed a Gronckle.

"Like he said, it's a sport," said Astrid. "I read about it. You fly around on dragons and try to catch sheep, which you then put in your team's basket. They're not real sheep, don't worry. They're like footballs, at least from what I could tell from the picture. Then one of the team has to catch the Black Sheep - which is like a golfball - and then their team gets a bunch of points. They usually win. Get it?"

"Not really," said Hiccup. "But thanks."

"Alright, losers?" asked Snotlout as he sauntered into the room with Ruffnut and Tuffnut and sat down at the table behind them.

"Stop calling us losers, muttonhead," snapped Astrid, turning to glare at him as the classroom began to fill up with first year Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Slytherins - Transfiguration, DADA and Charms were the only lessons that all of the houses had together, because they were the most important subjects.

"Have you heard?" said Ruffnut. "Our first flying lesson's today!"

"Yeah!" smirked Tuffnut. "I'm gonna kick your butt, sis!"

"You're not," snapped Ruffnut. "I'm a way better dragon rider than you!"

"Are not!"

"I am!"

"Shut up!"

"Okay, class!" called Phlegma, striding into the classroom, her wand at the ready. "Settle down! Right! As you know, you all have a flying lesson today,-"

Fishlegs groaned.

"-And you will all need to learn the correct spell to enlarge a dragon," said Phlegma. "Now, this is very basic magic. It may seem difficult from your point of view, but as soon as you try it, you'll find it easy."

"I doubt it," Hiccup muttered under his breath.

"Obviously, we are not going to be using real dragons, because that would be impractical," Phlegma informed them. "We are going to be using buttons, which should become about the size of dinner plates. The spell, however, will be exactly the same when enlarging a dragon. Uh, Miss Strand, could you hand out these buttons, please?"

Heather nodded and stood up. Phlegma handed her the box of small black buttons, which she proceeded to hand out to the rest of the class.

"Well, should be easy," said Astrid, rolling up the sleeves of her robes and standing up.

Hiccup stood up, too, along with Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and the rest of the class. He smiled at Heather when she handed him a button before placing it on the table on drawing his wand.

"Now," said Phlegma when Heather was back behind her desk. "The incantation is '_engorgio_', and the wand movement is, quite simply, a flick of the wrist, okay? Right, off you go!"

"_Engorgio_," said Hiccup, flicking his wand at the button, which stayed exactly the same size. "Well, that went well."

Astrid laughed. "_Engorgio._" Her button, like everybody else's, stayed the same size. "My button's broken."

Hiccup glanced over at Fishlegs, who was also unsuccessfully trying to enlarge his button before looking back down at his own.

"_Engorgio_," he said, flicking his wand again.

To his surprise, the button began to expand. Unfortunately, though, it stopped when it was about the same size as his palm, not a plate.

"How'd you do that?" asked Astrid, flicking her hair out of her eyes and glaring down at his palm-sized button.

"No idea," replied Hiccup, picking up his button. "But I can't've done it right. Why'd it stop?"

"You must've stopped concentrating when you saw that the spell was working," answered Fishlegs.

"Oh, right," said Hiccup.

"Aha!" yelled Astrid suddenly, holding up a plate-sized button. "I did it! That's weird..."

"_Engorgio_!" said Hiccup, making his button expand until it was roughly the same size as Astrid's. "Yes! Finally..."

"Ugh," Snotlout groaned. "I can't do it and it's stupid! Hiccup, do it for me!"

"Uh, let me think about that," said Hiccup, turning to face him. "No. I'm not going through that again."

"Well, whatever!" huffed Snotlout. "I can do it myself, anyway!"

"But, you just said-"

Hiccup was cut off when the window on the opposite side of the classroom shattered into thousands of pieces. The twins glanced at each other quickly before hiding their wands behind the backs and beginning to awkwardly whistle a tune that sounded a bit like 'Happy Birthday'.


End file.
